Home Vocabulary in English
Where do you live?
Is it a house or flat? Could you describe it in English? Talking about your home is a great topic of conversation. So, it’s important to learn English vocabulary to speak about your home.
In this video lesson, we’re going to look at some useful words for talking about your house or flat. And then we’re going to watch a video conversation with these words in it so you can learn them more easily!
By the way, conversations are a GREAT way to learn a language. This is because the language in conversations is the type of language that you can use when you’re speaking English too! Ready? Let’s go!
Level: Intermediate (B1) to Upper Intermediate (B2)
Vocabulary
Here are some useful words that appear in the video.
A flat
A place where you can live that is usually on one floor of a building. It normally has a kitchen, bathroom and one or two rooms. An “apartment” in US English: “I rented a flat in the centre of the city.”
Cosy
A house or room that is “cosy” is comfortable and warm: “This is a lovely, cosy house.”
Central
A “central” house or flat is in the centre of a town or city: “She rented a flat in central London.”
Natural light
If a house has “natural light”, light from the sun enters through the windows: “The flat has a lot of natural light.”
Dark
If a house or area is “dark”, there isn’t much light there (either from the sun or street lights): “This house is really dark – there’s no natural light!”
Dodgy (informal)
A “dodgy” area is a bit dangerous: “Be careful at night! It’s a bit of a dodgy area.”
Suspect
If you think someone or something is “suspect”, you think it’s possibly dangerous: “Police discovered a suspect package near the building.”
Airbnb
An app and website where you can rent a flat or house: “We stayed in an Airbnb flat for three days during the football tournament.”
To slam a door
To close a door violently and noisily: “He slammed the door as he left.”
A cupboard
A piece of furniture with one or two doors for food, clothes, books…: “The kitchen cupboard was full of tins of food.”
Quiet
If a place, area or house is “quiet”, it isn’t noisy and you can’t hear any (or many) sounds: “This area is quiet at night.”
To shake
If a building “shakes”, it moves from side to side with quick, small movements: “The building shakes every time a train passes.”
Amenities
Things in a house, building, hotel, etc. for your enjoyment or comfort: “The hotel amenities include a swimming pool and jacuzzi.”
The basement
The basement of a building is a floor below ground level: “She lived in a basement flat.”
A house-warming party
A party you have when you start living in a new house: “A few months after moving into our new flat, we had a house-warming.”
Video conversation
You’re going to watch two people talking about a new flat. Watch the video and answer these questions. [answers below]
What two problems does Josh say there are with the flat?
Why does the flat shake?
What amenities in the flat does Josh mention?
When will Josh have the house-warming party?
PS It’s important to watch the video once without stopping. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything – just try to get the gist of what they say (a general understanding of it). This will really help with your listening skills.
Watching & reading!
Now watch the video and read the script (see below) at the same time. This is great for your listening skills!
Speaking
Now talk about this topic with a friend or classmate. Make notes and try to use as much of the new language as you can.
Video script
Nate: So, dude, tell me about your new flat?
Josh: It’s pretty cool, it’s very central, it’s got 24-hour camera security there.
N: Good.
J: Yeah, it’s nice, erm it’s cosy.
N: Good.
J: It’s got some good natural light, but the area is kind of a bit dark like, a little bit dodgy, some suspect people hanging around. So, er, there’s this other problem which is it’s quite a popular building for Airbnb. [Oh no.] Yeah, the Airbnb people, they’re making a lot of noise.
N: Do they make a lot of noise?
J: Slamming the doors, cupboards shutting, parties, coming home late, all that kind of stuff, so that’s kind of a, kind of a shame.
N: Well, at least is the street quiet?
J: The street is quiet, except for the train line.
N: Oh no, a train?
J: Yeah, it shakes the building.
N: It shakes the building?
J: Have you seen The Blues Brothers*?
N: I have.
J: Kind of like that.
N: Oh, so you’re like Jake and Elwood.
J: Yeah, rolled into one, but now with Airbnb as well.
N: OK, [So, yeah.] and are there any amenities to living in this building?
J: It’s got a sauna.
N: Oh, it’s got a sauna, that’s OK.
J: And a gym downstairs in the basement.
N: And a gym, are you using the gym?
J: No.
N: No, the sauna?
J: Yeah.
N: OK, good.
J: Yeah, just to get away from the Airbnb people.
N: OK, good, and how long do you think you’re going to live there?
J: I’m going to try and live there as long as I can, I think. It’s a nice house.
N: OK, so not so bad.
J: Yeah, erm it has its moments.
N: Good, and when’s the house-warming party?
J: Oh, you want another party yeah? [That’s right.] After last time? After what you did?
N: That’s right.
J: Yeah, I don’t think so. Nice try, Nate.
N: Alright, alright.
J: Nice try.
*The Blues Brothers
A 1980 American musical comedy film directed by John Landis, starring actors John Belushi (as Jake) and Dan Aykroyd (as Jake’s brother Elwood).
Answers
What two problems does Josh say there are with the flat? The area is a bit dark and dangerous, and it’s noisy because it’s popular with Airbnb guests.
Why does the flat shake? Trains travelling along a nearby train line
What amenities in the flat does Josh mention? A sauna and a gym
When will Josh have the house-warming party? He won’t have a house-warming party because of what happened last time.
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